Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume5 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 4===

The most important Sanctuary in the entirety of the floating island Ragna Ys—the Grand Hall of the Wind Elemental Lord—was located atop a hilly area. It was some distance away from the building where the blade dance participants were.

This white building was made from a combination of the best-quality materials and cutting-edge technology. The huge construction covered the whole of the hill; one could appreciate its majesty even from outside of the floating island.

It was not only the place where the wind spirits listened to the Elemental Lord's decrees to the sacred land, but also where princess maidens from the Divine Ritual Institute chosen by the various nations would practice their devotions. Therefore, even the nobility of the country would absolutely not be allowed to enter.

However, at that very moment time, there was a lady outside the gate shouting anxiously.

"Please do me a favor! Grant me an audience with Reicha-sama–!"

She was individually separated from the team of five in order to work separately from Kamito – Fianna.

Wearing a rare serious look, she pleaded with the guard standing at the gate.

"You really don't give up do you."

The middle-aged guard regarded Fianna with unfriendly eyes.

Her face clearly expressed her stubbornness.

"Please withdraw. Our Divine Ritual Institute's gate will never open simply for any one, let alone getting an audience with Reicha-sama. Your requests will absolutely never be granted."

The guard uttered a statement she had probably repeated many times before.

(... This is so infuriating! These people are as stubborn as ever!)

Fianna cursed impatiently to herself.

Having said that, she had in fact expected such a reaction from the start, because the person she wanted to see was not someone who would meet with just anybody.

(If I could borrow her strength, it would certainly be enough to break the curse on Kamito. But...)

The guard looked down at Fianna, not bothering to conceal her expression of contempt.

Evidently, she had not the slightest inclination to open the door.

(... Well, I did know the reason ages ago.)

Refusing to give up, Fianna bit down on her lip.

The one she was thinking of was the Calamity Queen that had betrayed the Fire Elemental Lord – Rubia Elstein.

There had been high hopes placed on Fianna to be the successor, but the incident with Rubia had left indelible horrors in her heart, causing her to lose the power of summoning contracted spirits, and with that, her status as princess maiden.

And so Fianna Ray Ordesia became a lost princess maiden, thoroughly disappointing the people who had had great expectations of her and discrediting the Divine Ritual Institute.

(... You narrow-minded people who only know how to put in superficial effort really disgust me.)

Even her own parents—The Areishia emperor and empress—and the various nobility were all no different.

When Fianna was still the princess maiden successor, these people had flattered her in every possible way. Once she had lost her contracted spirit powers, however, they immediately scorned and disdained her, changing their attitudes faster than one could turn the page of a book.

Of course, not all of them were like that. It was just that the Divine Ritual Institute organization had decayed under the weight of its long history, and so indeed had a darker side.

Seeing Fianna's stubborn refusal to leave, the guard shook her head and said:

"I do not wish to continue wasting my time on you."

Having said this, she turned and went back into the temple.

"Wait a minute—"

Fianna quickly moved to catch up with her, but—

"Aaaah!?"

Suddenly, a fierce wind rose and blew Fianna off her feet.

Fianna and Claire were different in that they had not received special combat training for elementalists. Too late to protect herself, she fell heavily to the ground.

"... What!?"

She saw something stand at the doors – a magical wind spirit that looked like a winged lion.

It was a guardian spirit; it made contracts with not elementalists, but buildings. This very building, was in fact—the true sanctuary.

"It appears impossible to break through the front gate..."

Fianna glared at the Guardian while nursing a scrape on her lip.